Rising Stars: Meet Melissa Campbell of Colorado Springs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Campbell

Hi Melissa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
A some point between 1994 and 1996 I wanted to design the next Coca-Cola can, it might have been earlier- but this is when I have a home economics poster that I made in middle school, remembering this moment. At the time, Commerical Artist is what I wanted to be. It was in advertising/marketing, but getting to design the product that people would hold in their hands. So, that is how it all started. From there I went to pursue Graphic design- which when you go to a for-profit school like the Art Institute- it is more or less a chose your own adventure book and teach yourself. But hey, I made it out alive.

Graphic Designers are like everyone’s best friend. You should all know one. If you don’t — find one, If you do, know they don’t work for free and it probably will take longer than you think. However, being a friend is how I got started and where I am today. I have built 99% of my freelance business because of ‘word of mouth’ friends. I am mainly known in the craft beer and bike industry and just keep cruising there for now because it works, occasionally I will drift off the trail- but its only because of someone I met at a brewery or they heard about me through someone else. I have been super fortunate for this over the past eleven years.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’m sure it could be worse. I really can’t complain. I have gotten to work for some awesome people. Yes, there are some clients who just hate things and it takes forever to get stuff accomplished, but in the design world, Jessica Hische (https://jessicahische.is/) coined the “Asshole Tax” (and if its not copyrighted she should totally go do that now….). So that helped keep things in perspective. (The ‘Asshole Tax’ is where you just charge a little more because your client is being so difficult and its taking forever or too many revisions to get the project rolling, a surcharge if you will.)

The main struggle with being the designer, is that its not YOUR finished piece. When you are working for someone else, you are working towards making someone else happy with the final product. So- you can have an opinion, you can even share that opinion. A lot of times though your client just wants what they want. Its ok though- you are making it to make them happy and satisfied and at the end of the day that is what matters.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work a lot with digital illustration. Like I mentioned earlier- beer and biking industries seem to be my bread and butter. The main product I work with is craft beer cans, the 16 oz. canvas. I have illustrated well over two hundred beer labels, one of them winning a Craft beer Marketing award in 2021. Something I am proud of was this past year, was I finally got to illustrate my first children’s book; Meet Pikes Peak (available on Amazon). I have always wanted to illustrate a kids book and this was my chance. It was the longest project I have ever worked on- but to see the book in stores and my friends reading it with their kids makes me the most proud.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success by seeing people with something I designed and happy. Whether they are holding a beer can or the book I illustrated, seeing that someone bought it and is genuinely happy — to me that is success. All I ever wanted was to make something that people would hold and see my art on it. It wasn’t a Coca-Cola can, but I think I won because I have more variety in the things that I get to design.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.craftedcranedesign.com/